By Lacie Morrison
lmorrison@mineralwellsindex.com

A Graford woman arrested Monday marks the eighth arrest made in an 18-month-long investigation into “engaging in organized criminal activity” involving the manufacturing of methamphetamine, said officials with the Texas Department of Public Safety's narcotics division on Thursday.

With additional arrests in the offing, DPS officials praised the many law enforcement agencies that worked together in the course of the investigation, which focused on the Graford area and the edge of Young County.

DPS Sgt. John Waight said the interaction is “excellent. It's been a team effort [and] we've got great working relationships with all the agencies.A case like this is so complex, no one certain individual can do it. It's a co-ordinated effort … that makes an investigation like this a success.”

The investigation began, Waight said, with someone alerting authorities that certain individuals were purchasing items used in making meth at local pharmacies. From there, “we checked with the local pharmacies - Mineral Wells, Weatherford, Graham - and found distinct patterns,” he said. “They were traveling around.”

DPS Narcotics and the City/County Narcotics Unit worked surveillance for eight months, a process Lt. Doug Wood said “takes a lot of time and leg work.”

“We were trying to identify as many people as we could,” Waight said.

The first arrest in 2007 was Richard Gene Igo, 61, of Graford, who was arrested on March 15, 2007, on U.S. Highway 254 west of Graford and “had all the components [to manufacture meth] in the vehicle,” Waight said.

Five months later, several officers executed search warrants at two Graford residences and placed their occupants under arrest - Greggory Kip Gillmore, 51, David Kip Gillmore, 49, and Michelle McDuff Gillmore, 47.

The fourth arrest that afternoon was Andy Wayne Self, 45, who was arrested at his home.

DPS officials said surveillance continued and in January, David Gillmore was discovered with certain components used to manufacture meth in his possession and arrested again.

Within two weeks, two more related arrests were made - 21-year-old Eric Joel Yanez and Paul Ellis Burgess, 49.

Yanez was arrested on May 27 on an indictment warrant, Waight explained, and Burgess' arrest was the result of the DPS Narcotics Division, City/County Narcotics Unit and the Texas Highway Patrol working together.

The sergeant explained they executed a search warrant for Burgess' ranch on Farm-to-Market Road 1191 in Young County between Graham and Graford. Burgess was arrested June 4 at his ranch.

“We found evidence meth had been manufactured on the ranch … within the last several months and dating back. Numerous manufacturing cooks had taken place there,” he said.

The latest arrest was Brenda Lea Sinclair, 47, of Graford, on Monday. She was arrested at Possum Kingdom Lake by the Palo Pinto County Sheriff's Office and Brazos River Authority. She was charged with engaging in organized criminal activity.

According to DPS officials, they recovered more than 300 grams of evidence containing meth; they assessed the street value at approximately $30,000. Neither cash nor vehicles were seized in the course of the investigation.

Those who were arrested were charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, which Wood has rarely seen in state courts.

“It's not done hardly anywhere,” he said.

Applauding the involvement of District Attorney Michael Burns during the investigation, Waight added, “These cases take a long time to prepare and prosecute. … This is the second case I've done like this in a state court.”

They explained that with that particular charge, it's a “law that has a lot of teeth in it.” According to the DPS officials, it allows them to arrest others who are involved in a crime - not just the individual who's doing the actual manufacturing.

“A guy buying pills is just as much responsible as the one cooking. … They're making a profit off of it, too,” Wood said. “It stunned a few people.”

The first trial from the string of arrests is scheduled for later this month.